2005-03-06 - 12:59 p.m.
So I'm feeling like I'm now living and working in a hostile environment.
So Friday night I go out with a former student. We go out and have a cup of coffee, and just talk. It helps him with his grammar and pronunciation to just talk, and allow me to catch errors, and correct him. His english skills are really good. In fact I think he could take the TOEFL examination, and pass it. He is a sophomore here, and his english is really good.
He comes in about 15 minutes late and seems very disturbed. I ask him what is going on, and he replies by asking me a question. "Do you hate Christians?" (I need to explain at this point, that I am a Buddhist.) A couple of thoughts go through my head, I can be sarcastic "No, I like them dead." Or "No, they just need lots of chocolate sauce." Or "YEEEESSSSSS!!!", but I decide to tell him the straight truth.) I tell him no. I don't hate anyone. There are people who I dislike who are christian, but there are people I dislike who are wiccan's, hebrews, muslims, and even buddhists. But I don't hate anyone from their belief.
He keeps on the topic. So you mean you have never stood up and shouted, "I hate christians, I will have nothing to do with them." Now I'm getting worried, who has been feeding this line to my friend. I tell him no. That would be innane, and very counterproductive, and definately not my style.
He goes on about how the group he was out with (all foreign teachers here who are very missionary) have told him that I hate christians, and that I have forbidden my family from doing anything with them. Now needless to say I'm very shocked. I have gone out of my way to be non confrontational with many of them (especially since I know the bible better than most of them do). This reallly hurts my feelings. But what angers me is what happens next.
The "fellow" 'teachers' encouraged him to tell me about Jesus and the bible. These teachers are gossiping about me to a STUDENT, and they are then trying to get the STUDENT to use his friendship with me to preach the gospel at me. What kind of 'teacher' does this?
So I'm hoppin mad at this point. The student tells me that he doesn't want to discuss christianity with me, because he knows I'm a buddhist. He RESPECTS my beliefs, and wants to be friends who believe differently.
So I finish up with this student, and are sitting there drinking a cup of coffee when I remember a conversation with one of my current students the day before. This student comes to see me and asks what he has to do to get an A in the class. I tell him study the notes at least 2x, to read the selections I give them at least 2x and when he has any questions to ASK ME. oh, and don't cheat. If you do all of this you should pass the class. If you study hard you should get an A or B. In the middle of our converstation, this student says to me "You don't hate chirstians do you."
I didn't think anything of it then, but after the converstaion on Friday night, I'm feeling like several teachers are discussing me around students, and now my students think they will get worse grades if they are Christian.
The funniest part of it is that some of my best friends are christian. I may not dislike Christians in general, but I'm beginning to detest come "christians" here.
Will
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